1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to agricultural equipment, and, more particularly to an agricultural product delivery system for an agricultural product such as seed, herbicide, insecticide and/or fertilizer entrained in an air stream, and to a method for equipment operation at near maximum product delivery rate while minimizing the likelihood of delivery system blockage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pneumatic agricultural product delivery systems utilize a flow of air to assist in the delivery and movement of particulate material or product such as fertilizer, seed, insecticide or herbicide from a product supply chamber to a growing medium, such as soil. Such pneumatic agricultural particulate material delivery systems are commonly employed in planters, air drills and a variety of other agricultural implements. Special purpose implements such as fertilizer application equipment, planters or air seeders may also employ pneumatic delivery systems. Known pneumatic agricultural product delivery systems typically use air in motion to transport the product through an interior passage provided by a series of elongate tubes which extend from the product supply chamber or hopper to an outlet adjacent to the soil. Various conditions may lead to product blockage in the tubes resulting in lost time and effort to remove the blockage and resume the agricultural process.
What is needed in the art is an air distribution system which minimizes blockage problems and can allow the equipment to run at near maximum delivery capacity.